Parker McCollum has come a long way from the little boy who couldn’t wait to tag along on hunting trips with his dad. Now, with two sons of his own, the country music star is looking forward to being on the other side of those childhood memories.
And he’s already getting a head start.
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McCollum, who welcomed his second son with wife Hallie Ray in July, recently spent several days at the family ranch with his oldest boy, 2-year-old Major.
Parker McCollum performs during CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, June 7, 2024. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
“I was taking him with me to kind of, you know, just do some ranch stuff,” McCollum told OutKick OutDoors in an exclusive interview. “He can’t really. He just kind of stands out there and pulls grass out of the ground while I’m working or whatever.”
Major might not be much help around the ranch just yet, but McCollum certainly doesn’t mind. After all, he remembers exactly what it was like to be that little boy.
Watch Parker McCollum’s whole interview with OutKick OutDoors here:
“I remember those days so vividly,” he said. “My dad would get me out of school early on a Friday to go down to the lease or the ranch or whatever, and we would let it rip all weekend. And a lot of times it was just him and I.
“To say that I look forward to doing that for him and with him is an understatement.”
A lifelong love of hunting
Hunting has been part of McCollum’s life for as long as he can remember.
In a 2022 interview with NRA Country, the Texas native recalled going bird hunting with his father when he was around 8 years old, carrying a single-shot .410 shotgun. He also identified his dad as one of his favorite hunting buddies.
Parker McCollum performs onstage during the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards at Grand Ole Opry House on September 26, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Katherine Bomboy / NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
But McCollum’s love for the outdoors started even before he was old enough to participate.
During a 2024 interview with Audacy, McCollum remembered crying when his father and other family members left for hunting trips without him because he was too young to come along.
Once he finally got his chance, he was hooked.
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That outdoors-centered upbringing extended beyond hunting season, too. McCollum spent summers working cattle, branding steers and tending to his grandfather’s ranch alongside his cousins.
Now he’s hoping Major and his younger brother, Rocker, will grow up with that same appreciation for the outdoors.
And for McCollum, it’s about much more than harvesting deer.
‘So good for your soul’
With a demanding music career, two young children and a schedule that often keeps him on the road, McCollum understands how difficult it can be to slow down.
That’s exactly why he believes time outdoors is so important.
“There is nothing I love more than sitting in a tree in East Texas or South Texas or the Midwest. Even if you don’t see a dadgum deer,” he told OutKick OutDoors. “There’s just something about it that’s so good for your soul.”
McCollum explained that his family’s trips to the ranch aren’t about checking things off a to-do list or packing as much activity into the day as possible.
“Our whole intention was just slowing it down and turning it off and just spending time as a family, and no agenda,” he said. “We wake up late and cook breakfast, and hunt in the evenings, and crockpot dinner, and ride around.”
It’s a deliberate departure from the pace of everyday life — one McCollum says is becoming increasingly difficult to escape.
Parker McCollum performs on the main stage during CMA Fest 2025 at Nissan Stadium on June 06, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)
And that’s precisely the lesson he hopes his sons will carry into adulthood.
“Don’t ever get so busy or worried about other stuff that you forget to do this.”
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We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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